Commuter train hits SUV in Long Beach
A Metro Rail train out of Los Angeles collided with a sport utility vehicle in downtown Long Beach on Friday morning, disrupting traffic and sending at least one person to the hospital for observation, authorities said.
The accident occurred about 9:30 a.m. at Long Beach Boulevard and 7th Street.
“The driver of the SUV tried to make an illegal left turn onto oncoming traffic on a one-way street,” said Will Nash, a Long Beach Fire Department spokesman.
“Unfortunately, the train was right there when he did it.”
Nash said neither the driver nor his passenger appeared to have been injured, but the driver was taken to St. Mary Medical Center in Long Beach for observation.
No one on the train was hurt, he said.
Trenton Barnett, 31, who was having breakfast at a fast-food restaurant, said he “heard metal clashing and people screaming.”
“I looked up and saw the train pushing the SUV down the tracks,” he said. “It was a terrible sight.”
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